State made angioplasty decision

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, April 1, 2009

We have been gratified by the strong community support for New Milford Hospital expressed in recent editorial comments regarding our cardiovascular services.

However, with the pending closure of the emergency angioplasty program in early May, I want to clarify the circumstances surrounding this decision.

This is prompted in part by the March 27 Viewpoint column by
Jim McEwen
of New Milford, which reflects what I fear may be a more widespread misunderstanding about this important issue.

The decision to close angioplasty was not an optional one, or one initiated by the hospital.

In 2006, the state
Office of Health Care Access
(OHCA) issued the hospital a two-year Certificate of Need (CON) to operate the program, and has been monitoring our progress since that time.

The core requirement to keep the program open -- over and above the need to meet strictly-defined quality criteria -- was that we perform a specific minimum number of these procedures each year.

Despite extremely successful clinical outcomes from a talented and dedicated staff, the program simply has not met these stipulated volume thresholds, which are in turn based on the standards of highly credible organizations like the
American College of Cardiology
and the American Heart Association.

These thresholds are not a "guideline," as suggested by Mr. McEwen, but a hard and fast requirement from OHCA that it, and the hospital, could not overlook or ignore.

This is the ONLY reason the program is being closed. OHCA's Commissioner,
Cristine Vogel

, given her commitment to improving access to health care services for area residents, has not made this decision lightly.

As a physician with a long-standing interest in cardiovascular disease, it has been difficult for me as well.

However, to repeat, the hospital did not choose to close the program, the state did. Finances were not involved in the decision, as Mr. McEwen also suggested.

The loss of our CON because of our inability to meet pre-specified regulatory requirements concerning patient volumes was the cause.

With the loss of our CON we simply cannot operate the program -- clinically, fiscally, legally or morally -- in Connecticut.

To ensure that heart attack patients receive the timeliest interventions possible, we will continue the work we have initiated with the region's medical community, municipalities and EMS organizations, which promises to truly improve treatment both in the field and in area hospitals.

We will also maintain long-standing transfer processes to treat and support patients who may need to leave our community for care -- processes that existed before the angioplasty program and that were also utilized during the time it has been available.

New Milford Hospital will continue to be a "safe haven" for our community by maintaining those programs that will meet people's key health needs, and by finding those services at other hospitals that we -- as a community hospital -- simply cannot provide.

We are here to do what is best for those whose health is jeopardized -- the right care for every patient, every time.